Most teens say they can make ethical decisions, but many say it’s okay to lie and cheat
According to a poll released today, teens express a troubling contradiction when it comes to ethical readiness for the workforce. A vast majority say they are prepared to make the right choices, but they freely admit to unethical behavior. Here are the key findings of a new national poll from Junior Achievement and Deloitte:• Eighty percent of teens either somewhat or strongly agree that they are prepared to make ethical business decisions when they join the workforce, yet more than a third (38 percent) think that you have to break the rules at school to succeed.
• More than one in four teens (27 percent) think behaving violently is sometimes, often or always acceptable. Twenty percent of respondents said they had personally behaved violently toward another person in the past year, and 41 percent reported a friend had done so.
• Nearly half (49 percent) of those who say they are ethically prepared believe that lying to parents and guardians is acceptable, and 61 percent have done so in the past year.
• Teens feel more accountable to themselves (86 percent) than they do to their parents or guardians (52 percent), their friends (41 percent) or society (33 percent).
• Only about half (54 percent) cite their parents as role models. Most of those who don’t cite their parents as role models are turning to their friends or said they didn’t have a role model.
• Only 25 percent said they would be “very likely” to reveal knowledge of unethical behavior in the workplace.
What the Findings Mean:
• Teens’ feelings about accountability, coupled with self-reported unethical behavior, raise a potential concern among employers because ties within a community, school, work environment or social network often guide behavior. If teens lack accountability to others, the data suggests that their choices may be driven purely by self-interest and not by interest in the greater good.
• Teens seem to be experiencing a sense of ethical confusion and relativism - an endemic ethical attitude of “the ends justify the means.” Given that in a few years these same individuals will be performing our hospital lab tests, repairing our cars, teaching our children and investing our money, the survey results raise concerns for employers about how ethically prepared their future workforce will be.
Aisha covered education and breaking news for nearly ten years before joining the Lifestyle staff where she writes a "Dirty Laundry" parenting column. She is the home and family editor and wastes too much time on Facebook and political blogs. 
I am very, very afraid of children these days. Not mine, they are healthy, happy, well-rounded, educated and loved members of society. These days, parents are not being parents. They are trying to be their child’s best friend and that usually fails. It fails as they are not parents when they should be by giving their children advice and teaching them about society and our general rules to live by. They are now complaining about their poor children who don’t get valentines on Valentine’s Day because their is obviously a problem with their children, but they can’t accept that. They don’t get “picked” for teams/sports, because their child might be less talented. This is all part of society, these children need to learn that. There should also be bad circumstances for bad behavior, not just teaching children “it’s okay to fail, at least you tried.” Parents making “excuses” and depending on narcotics to deal with their children, does not help the children or prepare them for society in any way. It allows the children to be lazy, worthless and useless individuals. But hey, their parents tell them that’s okay. Children grow up not wanting responsibility. Why should they, when Mommy and Daddy do everything for them? They are not taught to clean after themselves, to help with chores at home (laundry, taking out trash, etc.), they don’t want to drive, etc. But on the other hand, they say “I’m 17, I can do anything I want to do…” they say/think because they’re “of age” that they should be given responsibility to do things like babysit other children (are ya kidding me?), to drive, to work. And they are in no way prepared for any of that. They wouldn’t know what to do if a fire started in a house, or a child started choking…but since they’re 17, then they should be given the responsibility. And these 17-year-olds are walking among us, having children of their own. Mom and Dad need to take more responsibility in raising their children than I’ve ever seen in my 56 years.
I think some of this stems from the impersonal nature of our society these days. Kids’ primary means of communication is too often texting or social networking. It’s much easier to lie or be deceitful when you’re not looking someone in the eye. There is a lack of accountability when you’re not face to face with someone. I think that’s a big part of some of the bullying that goes on with kids also. When you can’t see the hurt on the face of the person you’re lying to or being mean to, it’s much easier to pretend it’s not so bad.
I’m sorry, but, this is NOT about kids. This is about our society in general. I’m in my late 20’s, and in the decade that I’ve been working, I’ve seen too many examples of similar behavior from adults to start blaming kids. If we want our kids to be ethical, we have to be ethical, too.
(and, three of those people that lied to me about whether they hit my car in the parking lot or not, are already doing your lab tests and xrays and building your buildings)
People are too easily tempted to self-justify or take the easy way out of things… this is NOT a new trend, it started with my parents’ generation and it’s being passed down.
Of course they think it’s OK to lie and cheat. They see/read the news from time to time. Liars and cheaters have gotten us in this shape. I have never told my son to act like a grown up.
I agree that this issue is not just about kids. Can anyone say Enron?? I simply referred to kids since that was what this article was about. No offense meant to any ethical person of any age!
Maryann, you are dead on!!! Parents have to take responsibility for raising their kids. Instead, so many parents are sitting their kids in front of the TV, and that is where they learn to be disrespecful, self-loathing worthless individuals. When I was a kid, failure was not an option. Getting good grades and moving on to college, all while holding down a job was not optional! Appreciating the little things in life is unheard of to these kids because it’s all about possessions - cell phones, iPods, computers, etc. I can’t tell you how many teenagers I know who think that there are no consequences to their actions. Mommy and Daddy will take care of it for me! What?!?!?! When are kids going to wake up and realize that life is not handed to you? I know, when Mom and Dad start acting like parents.
Parents ARE to blame. And so is the media. Television is heinous! Even when watching an acceptable movie with my 9-year old, I have my finger on the remote to switch because the commercials for other shows are so violent and inappropriate. Women acting and dressing like prostitutes, every show about murders. And cable, don’t get me started! We have no premium channels, have pretty much everything blocked out except Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel and we still have to be hyper-vigilant. The other night we were watching “Apollo 13″ and the commercials for all those other disgusting shows were on– Bad Girls Club, Girls Next Door, etc. where girls are staggering around drunk, beating each other up. It’s rampant. And all the reality shows on network TV (which I never watch or allow her to watch)– the conniving and backstabbing is rewarded. And the music– being a “ho” is a good thing in the lyricis today! The results of this study are no surprise to me. What’s surprising is they’re not worse.